My Fair Lady
The loverliest motion picture of them all!
![Video for the film My Fair Lady — My Fair Lady (1964) Original Trailer [FHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Cl1yZHF8Yq8/sddefault.jpg)
Country
Production
Budget
$17 000 000
Box office
$72 002 771
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Composer
Frederick Loewe
Artist
George James Hopkins, Cecil Beaton
Audition
Editing
William H. Ziegler
Whole Team (23)
Whole Team (23)
Short description
A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.
What's left behind the scenes
- The role of Alfred P. Doolittle was first offered to James Cagney. When he declined at the last minute, the role went to Stanley Holloway, who had played Alfred on Broadway.
- When it was decided that the musical 'My Fair Lady' would be made into a film, fans were disappointed; everyone had hoped to see Julie Andrews in the role of Eliza (Rex Harrison wanted this as well), but the part ultimately went to Audrey Hepburn. However, no replacement was found for Rex Harrison, who had played Higgins on Broadway; the eccentric professor successfully transitioned from the stage to the big screen and subsequently won an Oscar.
- The film's title does not appear in any dialogue or song.
- In her 2004 autobiography 'Tis Herself', Maureen O'Hara wrote that producer Jack L. Warner had asked her to sing for Audrey Hepburn in the movie.
- Jeremy Brett, who turned 30 during filming, was very surprised to learn that a 42-year-old American, Billy Shirley, dubbed his singing voice.
- In the musical, Elise is 21 and Freddie is 20. Audrey Hepburn was 34 years old during filming (this fact also upset fans of the Broadway production), and Jeremy Brett was 30 years old.
- Audrey Hepburn later confessed that she would never have accepted the role of Eliza Doolittle if she had known that Jack L. Warner wanted to dub all her songs. Furthermore, she once told Julie Andrews personally that she should have played Eliza instead of her. During her performance at the University of California in Los Angeles in 2008, Julie Andrews confirmed this fact.
- Jack L. Warner paid $5.5 million for the rights in February 1962. At the time, this purchase set a record, as no one had previously acquired the original production rights for such a large sum. It wasn't until 1978 that Columbia paid $9.5 million for the film rights to "Annie" (1982).
- The film takes place in 1912.
- The film was originally going to be called "Lady Lisa".
- James Cagney was first offered the role of Alfred Doolittle. When he turned it down at the last minute, the role went to Stanley Holloway, who had played Alfred on Broadway.
- Rex Harrison was very disappointed to learn that the role of Eliza went to Audrey Hepburn, as he wanted his Broadway co-star Julie Andrews to play her. However, Harrison and Hepburn became friends on set, and when the actor received the Oscar for My Fair Lady in 1964, he dedicated it to his "two fair ladies," Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews, both of whom had played Eliza Doolittle opposite him.
- The Broadway premiere of the musical took place on March 15, 1956. The production, starring Julie Andrews in the lead role, immediately became immensely popular, with tickets sold out six months in advance. 'My Fair Lady' was performed on Broadway 2717 times.
- Shirley Jones was one of the actresses Jack L. Warner planned to offer the role if Audrey Hepburn had refused. Julie Andrews' candidacy was rejected because the producers considered her insufficiently famous. Elizabeth Taylor also very much wanted to play Eliza.
- Audrey Hepburn specifically prepared and took vocal lessons for the role, but she was ultimately dubbed by Marni Nixon in all the songs.
- 27A Wimpole Street in London – the address of Professor Higgins – does not actually exist; there is a 27 Wimpole Street.
- When it was decided that the musical "My Fair Lady" would be made into a film, its fans were disappointed, hoping to see Julie Andrews in the role of Eliza (Rex Harrison wanted her too), but Audrey Hepburn ended up playing her. However, Rex Harrison, who played Higgins on Broadway, was irreplaceable, and the eccentric professor successfully moved from the stage to the big screen and subsequently received an Oscar.
- Before it was decided that Rex Harrison would play Professor Higgins in the film as well, Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, Noël Coward, Michael Redgrave, and George Sanders were considered for the role.
- Shirley Jones was one of the actresses Jack L. Warner planned to offer the role to if Audrey Hepburn had refused. Julie Andrews' candidacy was rejected because the producers felt she was not well-known enough. Elizabeth Taylor also strongly desired to play Eliza.
- Jack L. Warner paid $5.5 million for the rights in February 1962. At the time, this purchase was a record; no one had previously acquired an original stage idea for such a large sum. Only in 1978 did Columbia pay $9.5 million for the rights to film “Annie” (1982).
- When Cary Grant was asked why he turned down the role of Henry Higgins, Grant replied that his manner of speaking was much closer to Eliza Doolittle's.
- Before it was decided that Rex Harrison would play Professor Higgins in the film as well, Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, Noel Coward, Michael Redgrave, and George Sanders were considered for the role.
- When Cary Grant was asked why he turned down the role of Henry Higgins, Grant replied that his manner of speaking was much closer to that of Eliza Doolittle.
- Jeremy Brett, who turned 30 during filming, was very surprised to learn that his singing parts were dubbed by 42-year-old American Billy Shirley.
- Rex Harrison was very disappointed to learn that the role of Eliza went to Audrey Hepburn, as he wanted his Broadway co-star Julie Andrews to play her. However, Harrison and Hepburn became friends during filming, and when the actor received an Oscar for “My Fair Lady” in 1964, he dedicated it to his “two beautiful ladies,” Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews, who had both played Eliza Doolittle with him.
- Audrey Hepburn prepared intensively for the role and took vocal lessons, but in the end, she was dubbed in all the songs by Marni Nixon.
- Actress Gladys Cooper, who plays Professor Higgins’ mother, previously played the same role in a 1963 television production of 'Pygmalion,' 'Hallmark Hall of Fame: Pygmalion (#12.3)'.
- In her 2004 autobiography, “Tis Herself,” Maureen O’Hara wrote that producer Jack L. Warner asked her to sing for Audrey Hepburn in the film.
- Audrey Hepburn later admitted that she would never have accepted the role of Eliza Doolittle had she known that Jack L. Warner wanted to dub all of her songs. Furthermore, she once told Julie Andrews personally that Andrews should have played Eliza instead of her. During a presentation at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2008, Julie Andrews confirmed this fact.
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